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Home of the Leeds Labour Group on Leeds City Council

Reclaiming the “Northern Powerhouse”

As an elected member of Leeds City Council, the biggest local authority north of Birmingham, discussions of devolution and the northern powerhouse are never too far away.

There are lots of reasons for Labour councillors to get excited about regional devolution. It has the potential to provide fiscal devolution which would enable increased spending on public transport and local health services and it would be an opportunity to give local communities more of a say about what happens to them and their area. But there are also a whole host of challenges and underlying concerns. Will this just be a token transfer of power from one set of politicians to another? Will the Tories simply use this as a stick to beat Labour councils with?

This aside, Labour can’t be seen as being afraid of devolution. Instead this is a moment to be bold, to let go and let communities shape the devolved future they want to see. Our party leadership and the parliamentary Labour Party can learn a lot from Labour in power in the north. City councils like Leeds and Manchester are finding innovative ways to make social and economic progress in spite of funding shortfalls. Leeds is the UK’s fastest growing economy and that isn’t because of George Osbourne it’s because of the Labour council. We need to empower Labour councils who are minimising the worst effects of the cuts and showing the positive difference Labour in power can make.

It’s vital that any devolution deal that is drawn up in this region or the next is more than a token displacement of powers. It is of the highest importance that any movement of power is followed by funding because ultimately, you can’t empower local councils if you impoverish them.

The principle of devolution resonates with a lot of local politicians in the north. We need local solutions to local problems and we’ve known for a long time that Westminster doesn’t have all the answers.

For the past couple of years, George Osbourne has been talking about the “Northern Powerhouse”. Despite this being a Tory initiative, I’m sure I’m not the only Labour politician, who despite myself, wanted it to succeed. I hoped that this renewed focus on northern England would bring more growth, prosperity and opportunities to our northern cities and give them the chance to control their own destinies. But the truth is that Osbourne has drastically failed to follow rhetoric with action. Labour should defend the idea of the ‘Northern Powerhouse’ because in principle it’s something our party should get behind. But we should also hold the Tories to account over their endemic failure to deliver on their promises.

Labour should be arguing for a more ambitious devolution that shapes a new relationship between citizens and the state and redefines the relationship between local and national government. We need to spend more time talking about what we would do with additional funding and powers. Regional devolution has the potential to play a pivotal role in solving the housing crisis by giving regions greater powers and freedoms when it comes to building affordable housing and Labour should be making this case. It’s not good enough for us just to complain that there isn’t enough power or there isn’t enough money. We need to show that we are the party of the north and we have the answers.

I’ve lived in northern England all my life and I’m very proud of our part of the world. I don’t believe that our part of the country is on the decline and it frustrates me when politicians talk about us like we’re the weak link. Labour shouldn’t see the north as a barrier that it needs to overcome on our route back to government but one of the strongest branches of our movement and our country. We need to stop berating the north and utilise it to make our party and our nation stronger.